March 2023 – Page 3 – Memos for Me

Day 1: African Wildlife Safari

March 5, 2023

I arrived in Kilimanjaro, Tanzania a year ago for the start of an African wildlife safari and my first visit to Africa. The last 12 months have included several life changes with one result being I never shared my trip photos. I figured now’s a good time to do so.

I left Arkansas during the morning of March 4, 2022, for Amsterdam. A goal from 2022 that I am continuing this year is that I complete an eBird checklist each day. I actually completed that day’s checklist at the Amsterdam airport where I spotted a Carrion Crow.

It was also there that we met up with others in our group for our final flight to Mount Kilimanjaro. We arrived at 8:45 p.m. and completed our COVID-19 testing requirements and made our way through customs pretty quickly. By the time we got done, we were all pretty tired so we headed straight to Arusha Serena Hotel to get settled into our rooms. While we weren’t able to get a good picture of the hotel, we were happy with our rooms. My aunt Jodi also joined the group so we were roommates throughout the trip.

A moth found on the outside of our room’s window.

Photos: Longspurs and Owls

March 1, 2023

I visited the Stuttgart Municipal Airport recently with a group of birders with the hope of finding Short-eared Owls, Smith’s Longspurs, Lapland Longspurs and possibly even a Barn Owl. While we missed the Lapland Longspurs, we did get lucky on the bird front. Our checklist for the day included four Short-eared Owls, a juvenile Bald Eagle and 77 Smith’s Longspurs.

It actually turned out to be a great birding weekend. I traveled to Wynne to visit family and returned to Little Rock via Hwy. 64 through Bald Knob. The route had me stumbling across a birds such as the below Black Vulture, Fox Sparrow, Hooded Mergansers and Mallards. I even spotted a tree that had a hole that eerily looked like a face. What do you think – do you see the face?